


Stark Naked Science

by 27dragons



Series: imaginetonyandbucky fills [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, background Steve/Natasha, dad!bucky, nothing realistic about any of this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:51:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/27dragons/pseuds/27dragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Observation: The host of the kids' science show Bucky's daughter has become obsessed with is really, really hot.<br/>Hypothesis: If they could somehow meet, they might really hit it off.<br/>Testing: Bucky's friend Natasha somehow got them tickets to a live show... and the post-show backstage party.<br/>Conclusion: If even Becca's figured out that Bucky's got a crush, he's in big trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Observation

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a [prompt fill](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3603543/chapters/8439823) for the [imaginetonyandbucky](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com) blog, and thanks to the encouragement of the blog's readers and my fellow authors over there, is expanding into a 4-part series.

Kids’ TV is  _so bad_. Bucky can remember cartoons from when he was a kid, and he’s  _really positive_  it used to be better until he decides to give his little angel an education and looks some of them up on YouTube and holy christ they’re even worse. (There’s a moment of black humor where he considers the possibility that the shit TV and mind-numbing books are the whole sum of the reason Becca’s mom left, but he would never in  _a million years_  say such a thing out loud.)

Out loud, Bucky resigns himself to pretending to be enthusiastic about the creepy-ass puppets and the even weirder cartoons and to sitting at the computer with Becca in his lap afterward to look up information about whatever Actual Real Life Thing had been featured. (Actually, that part’s not so bad. If only Bucky didn’t have to, you know,  _watch the shows_  to find out what the topic of the day was.)

Becca’s about six when she stumbles into the science show  _Stark Naked Science_ , on a recommendation from a friend at school. The name of the show is, of course, part of its appeal, in a playground-giggly sort of way that Bucky’s long since learned to just roll his eyes at, but  _just in case_ , he keeps his thumb on the remote for the entire first episode they watch together.

And it’s… not bad. In fact, it’s actually really good.

The set design is obviously built to appeal to kids with its bright red and gold color scheme and funky angles, but it’s not eye-searing or babyish. The science is all introduced via real-world situations that are relatable for kids Becca’s age and seems to address kids of all genders and races and cultures, which is a nice change of pace. The experiments look dangerous and fun and cool, and the show seems to touch on a pretty wide variety of fields to keep little interests riveted, and drops in some slightly dated pop culture references to keep parents amused. Best of all, it doesn’t talk down to the kids at all – in fact, at one point the host, Tony, pauses in the middle of a ramble that  _Bucky_  was having trouble following, looks right at the camera, and says, “Whoops, did I get a little overcomplicated there? Don’t worry, everything’s explained in more detail on the show’s website!”

Becca’s an immediate fan. What’s more, so is Bucky.

It doesn’t hurt in the slightest that Tony is  _smoking hot_. Bucky keeps that observation to himself. He can remember his oldest sister’s crush on one of the Wiggles, when her eldest had been little, and does  _not_  need to give her any excuse to throw his mockery back into his face. But if he re-watches a few of his favorite episodes after Becca’s long since tucked into bed for the night, well, that’s no one’s business but his own, right?

 _Stark Naked Science_  becomes a fixture in the Barnes house, and it’s not until six months later when Bucky catches himself talking to Tony’s slightly manic grin on Becca’s lunchbox as he spreads peanut butter on her sandwich that he even thinks to question how far down the rabbit hole they’ve gone. Hey, Bucky is a single dad; he’ll take his social interaction where he can get it.

So when Natasha swings into his cubicle at work and says, “Hey, Barnes, those tickets you were trying to get for that kids' show, what was it?  _Stark Naked Science_?” she immediately has Bucky’s full attention. Because of  _course_  he and Becca had been hoping to go to the live show when they’d found out it was coming to their town, and of  _course_  it had sold out pretty much instantly. Becca had moped around the house for three days after Bucky had broken the news, and he hadn’t been able to cheer her up much, because quite frankly he’d been feeling nearly as cranky himself.

But Natasha… Natasha has a way of getting her hands on things. No one’s quite sure how, and no one quite dares ask. She’s been known to ask for some crazy favors in return for her talents, but at this point, Bucky would be willing to sell his left arm for those tickets. “Natasha, don’t tease,” he begs.

She smiles, slow and predatory, and holds up an envelope between two perfectly-manicured fingers.

Bucky’s pretty sure she could kill him with just those two fingers. “What’ll it cost me?” he sighs, already knowing that whatever it is, he’s going to pay it.

Natasha regards him for a long moment, measuring, and Bucky tries really hard not to let her see that he’s starting to break out into a sweat, when finally she says, “Set me up for drinks and dinner with your buddy Steve over in Graphics.”

Bucky nearly chokes, because Steve has done nothing for weeks but wax poetic about Natasha when they go out together after work for drinks. He’s so relentless about it that Bucky’s been practically contemplating throwing himself off the train to get away. There would literally be  _nothing easier_  than to set Steve and Natasha up on a date.  _Nothing_. Bucky would even pay for it himself, if only to shut Steve up, never mind the tickets.

Wait, back up,  _do_  mind the tickets, because Bucky  _needs_  them.

“Yeah. Yes.  _Done_ ,” Bucky blurts, and holds out his hand, not even caring if Natasha knows how desperate he is.

Natasha hands him the envelope with a quirky smile that says she already knew. “There’s a little something extra in there, too,” she tells him. “Call it an early birthday present.” She’s gone before Bucky can ask what she means.

He opens the envelope with shaking hands. Holy  _fuck_ , front-and-center tickets? Natasha is the  _best_. And behind them… Oh my god, Becca is going to scream so loud they’ll hear her in Russia: they have passes to the post-show backstage party.

Bucky doesn’t get a damn thing done for the rest of the day, because he’s alternating between imagining Becca’s reaction to the news and trying to decide what to wear that might – just  _might_  – catch Tony Stark’s eye.


	2. Hypothesis

_The after-show party is for the kids_ , Bucky reminded himself firmly, holding Becca’s hand as they – along with another dozen or so kids and their parents – followed the event organizer through the winding halls of the venue.  _Just be cool, hang back with the other adults and let Becca enjoy herself. He’s probably straight anyway_.

The  _Stark Naked Science_  live show had actually been even better than the taped broadcast shows. The live audience had been charged with excitement and shouting back answers to the questions that, on the TV, would have been merely rhetorical. They’d felt the heat and smelled the roiling smoke from the explosions. They’d laughed at the antics of Tony’s robotic “lab assistants”. There had even been some actual mistakes and slip-ups, but Tony had rolled with them smoothly, taking the opportunity to deliver some lessons on continuing to try and checking your work.

And Tony paced continuously, back and forth across the stage, which meant Bucky got a much clearer and closer and prolonged view of his fantastic ass than the edited-for-children TV show generally allowed.

It looked like the after-show party was going to be more of the same, he thought as they were ushered into a much smaller room that was set up with a mock-laboratory before a semi-circle of big and small chairs.

The whole thing was well-orchestrated; as soon as the last of the group had found seats, Tony swept in and then paused, staring at them all with just slightly over-acted astonishment.

“PEPPER!” he bellowed.

Pepper – on the show, she was Tony’s boss, forever trying to chivvy him into doing some work that he was trying, humorously, to avoid – yelled from the hallway. “What  _now_ , Tony?”

“Who are these people in my lab?” he demanded, blinking owlishly at the children. “Why are they here? I am doing  _science_  here, Pepper! These are not  _scientists_!”

Pepper came in then, pushing a cart. “Of course they’re scientists, Tony,” she said patiently. “You said you needed assistants for your experiments today.”

Half the children in the room caught on immediately, and their collective gasp of excitement made Bucky grin.

Tony scowled at the kids. “Of course they’re not. They’re not even properly dressed for science! Take them away and get me some proper assistants!” He turned away and began to fiddle with an assortment of contraptions on the lab table, getting out dishes and lighting fires and measuring things.

Pepper smiled at the small audience and winked. “What do you think, can we find Tony some assistants?” The children all but screamed their agreement. Tony pretended not to hear, but Bucky thought he could see the man’s shoulder’s shaking with laughter.

Pepper pushed the cart around the semi-circle, handing out child-sized labcoats and plastic safety glasses, all of which were printed with the show’s logo. Becca bounced so frantically that Bucky could barely get her arms into the coat, nevermind button it up. When the last of them had been helped into their new gear by their parents, Pepper cleared her throat. “About those assistants, Tony…”

Tony turned around and opened his arms wide. “Now  _these_  are people who are ready to do some science! Who wants to do some science?” He grinned happily as a dozen or so tiny hands all shot up in the air, and several especially eager kids leapt from their seats. “You,” Tony said, pointing at one girl, “you look like you’re clever. Come up here and help me with this.”

These experiments weren’t quite as explosive or dangerous-looking as the ones he’d performed on the stage, but Tony appeared to have a different experiment for each of the kids to help with, and as near as Bucky could tell, he was carefully keeping track of who had and hadn’t already had a turn with him in the laboratory. He was brilliant with the kids, whether they were loud and boisterous or quiet and shy, he managed to get them to settle down or step up and coaxed understanding out of them that neither they nor their parents had realized they were capable of.

Because, Bucky thought with an inward sigh, he apparently hadn’t been quite charmed enough by Tony Stark already.

Becca got her turn eighth or ninth, and Bucky’s heart swelled with pride as he watched his angel gravely listen to Tony’s instructions and complete the tasks he gave her. When they were finished, to general applause, Tony offered a hand for a high-five, but Becca grabbed his sleeve and tugged until Tony leaned down so she could whisper in his ear.

_Becca, sweetheart, what are you doing?_  Bucky wondered, slightly frantic.  _Honey, no, don’t…_

And now Becca was pointing right at Bucky, and Tony was following the line of her arm and  _looking at him_. Dimly, Bucky was aware of heat crawling up his neck as some of the other parents turned to look at him, too, amused and curious.  _Oh god, Becca, what did you_ _ **say**_ _?_  Tony was grinning, so it can’t have been too bad. Could it? Tony was a professional, though, used to smiling for the camera no matter what. Bucky tried to return the smile, but he was pretty sure it came out plastic and horrifying, and if he’d had even a  _ghost_  of a chance of impressing Tony, it was surely gone now.

Tony whispered back to Becca, then, and Becca  _giggled_ , and Bucky was pretty sure that if he were capable of melting through the floor in embarrassment, he would. But no, he seemed to be stuck here, watching helplessly as Tony shooed Becca back to her seat and called for another volunteer, thank god, and– did Tony just  _wink at Bucky_? What did  _that_ mean?

Becca plopped back down next to Bucky, well-pleased with herself. “Didja see me pour in the acid, Daddy?” she demanded in a whisper.

“I saw, angel,” Bucky whispered back on autopilot. “You did great.”

“This is the best day  _ever_ ,” Becca said.

“It sure is, honey,” Bucky agreed. “What, uh, what did you tell Mr. Stark there at the end?”

“Dad,” Becca said with exaggerated patience. “It’s a  _secret_. That’s why I  _whispered_  it.”

“Oh. Right. Of course,” Bucky managed weakly, and then shut up so they could watch the next demonstration.

Bucky tried to get back into just enjoying the show and Becca’s excited wiggle against his side and Tony’s constant stream of chatter and jokes and occasional off-color comment, because it was still a fantastic show, quite honestly, but… was Tony looking in his direction a little more often than before?

When the last kid had been sent back to his seat, Bucky was anticipating a little patter to close things out and for everyone to be sent on their way. Tony clapped his hands and said, “Well, Pepper has really outdone herself this time. This is the best bunch of assistants I’ve ever had. Except for you, Tim. You were just  _terrible_.” He grinned and waited for the ripple of laughter to die. “But for this last experiment, I think I’m going to need someone a little… taller.”

_Oh no. No, no, no…_

Tony was slowly surveying the room, but the adults on either side of Bucky were already turning to look at him, and Bucky’s neck and ears felt hot and Becca’s wiggling had turned into a vibration of anticipation– “How about you, there, hot stuff?” Well, of course Tony was pointing right at Bucky.

He thought about refusing, but Becca was squealing with joy and… Well, he wasn’t ever going to get another chance to be that close to Tony, was he? Bucky stood up and made his way to the front of the room.

Tony’s hand was warm, and his eyes sparked with humor and life, and if Bucky had wondered whether his good looks were an illusion of the screen or makeup, they were laid to rest at that moment. “What’s your name, assistant?” Tony asked, as he’d asked all the kids. His lips hadn’t curved quite like that for the kids, though. Had they?

“Bucky.” Oh, dammit, he hadn’t meant to– “I mean, James.”

Tony’s eyebrows rose, just a bit. “You don’t know your own name?”

Bucky’s blush climbed higher, to stain his cheeks. “It’s James,” he said. “Just, all my friends call me Bucky, but–”

“Bucky it is, then!” Tony proclaimed, and finally released Bucky’s hand – but then he tucked his hand through Bucky’s arm and started leading him to the far side of the room, away from the laboratory setup. “Who remembers what science is?” he called toward the audience.

If Bucky hadn’t seen every episode of  _Stark Naked Science_  ever produced – multiple times – he wouldn’t have been able to decipher the ragged and oft-mispronounced chorus of “Observation, hypothesis, testing, conclusion!” that the children chanted.

“That’s right! Let’s start with an observation,” Tony said, and met Bucky’s eyes again, smile turning mischievous and hot, and if they hadn’t been in a room full of kids, Bucky would’ve sworn he was about to be on the receiving end of a pickup line. But instead, Tony just grabbed at the lanyard around Bucky’s neck and held it up to look at the dangling backstage pass.

“Observation: this pass says it’s for a  _party_ , not for science! Do I have any corroborating observations?”

A flurry of childish “Me!“s and "Here!"s filled the room.

"That’s interesting,” Tony said. “How about contradictory observations? Does anyone’s pass  _not_  say ‘party’?”

The room was silent.

“That’s  _very_  interesting,” Tony said gravely, though Bucky was close enough to see his lips twitch toward another smile. His hand was still around Bucky’s lanyard, holding it like he was going to reel Bucky in with it…

Tony looked back at Bucky, and Bucky startled visibly at the sudden change of focus, guiltily jerking his thoughts back into order. “Would you care to offer a hypothesis, Bucky?”

“Uh,” Bucky said intelligently, and mentally kicked himself. He regrouped a little. “Hypothesis,” he said, using the show’s careful methodology. “Hypothesis: This is a party?”

“Not bad,” Tony said, and – did he wink at Bucky  _again_? – turned toward the audience. “How do we test that?”

“With our senses!” the kids yelled.

“Does this  _look_  like a party?” Tony asked.

“No!”

“Hm. Well, sometimes your eyes can fool you. Does this  _sound_  like a party?”

“No!”

“It’s not looking good for your party hypothesis, Bucky,” Tony said, teasing. “Does this _taste_ – Wait, I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to let any of you lick the room. Let’s skip that one. Does it  _smell_  like a party?”

This time, the enthusiastic chorus of No!s was countered by the boy on the end of the row, who wrinkled his nose and tentatively said, “I smell cake.”

“A dissenting scientific opinion!” Tony gasped. “What do we do with scientists who disagree with us? Do we dunk them in barbeque sauce and roast them?”

The kids all fell over themselves laughing, though a few of them managed to choke out a “No!”

“Do we stick our fingers in our ears and pretend we didn’t hear them?”

“No!” and one over-enthusiastic charmer added, “More testing!”

“That’s right!” Tony agreed. “More testing! You – Carolyn – move over by Lashawn there and see if you can smell what he’s smelling.”

Carolyn did as ordered, frowning fiercely as she approached. The moment of revelation couldn’t have been more obvious. “I smell it too!” she squeaked.

Tony called up three more kids, each of whom agreed that the edge of the room nearest to Lashawn smelled distinctly of cake.

“So some parts of the room do, actually, smell like a party,” Tony said. “Hmm. Maybe we should conduct some of our earlier tests again, but this time, stand on this side of the room. All my assistants, huddle up, over here!”

The kids all scrambled into knot where the cake-smell was strongest.

“Does it smell like a party?”

“Yes!”

“Does it  _sound_  like a party?” Just as Tony said it, music filled the room, slightly muffled, as if it was coming from the other side of the–

Bucky looked at the wall, and started laughing while the kids gave their startled and excited affirmatives. It was a removable partition wall.

“Hey, Bucky, help me with this thing, would you?” Tony grabbed the hidden handle on the partition wall.

Bucky was laughing too hard to move for a moment, but as soon as Tony started to pull, Bucky slid his fingers into the gap and put his own back into it. The first two panels slid aside and the music was suddenly clearer. The space beyond the wall was filled with dancing disco lights, and Pepper was standing behind a snack table with a huge bowl of popcorn and another bowl of punch and – yes, a few dozen pre-sliced pieces of cake. The floor was nearly covered with balloons, and there was a bounce-house taking up one corner of the room.

“Does it  _look_  like a party?” Tony demanded, and the kids didn’t hesitate a second. They swarmed through the gap in the wall like a commando unit on a raid.

Tony laughed, watching them, warm and fond. “Conclusion: It’s a party,” he said, not bothering to project for little ears that weren’t even listening anymore. He turned to look at Bucky with a grin. “Sorry about dragging you into it. I usually do that last bit on my own, but your daughter said you  _really_  wanted to do an experiment, too.”

Bucky laughed, more than half in relief. “Is that what she said? She wouldn’t tell me.” He looked around the room, automatically seeking Becca, and found her with two other kids playing some sort of game that involved kicking balloons at each other.

Tony’s eyes sparkled. “What did you  _think_  she was telling me?”

Bucky’s blush had almost faded, damn it. “Oh, you never know what kids are going to say, do you?” he hedged.

Tony smirked knowingly, but turned to shake another parent’s hand, and Bucky slipped away, making his way to the snack table for some punch, hoping it would cool the back of his neck a little.

Pepper handed him a cup with a smile. “Observation,” she said playfully, “he thinks you’re cute, too.”

Bucky nearly choked on his punch. “What?”

She laughed, and took a few steps to refill a child’s popcorn bag. “We’ve been friends for years. I can tell.”

“I don’t– I mean, I know it’s just–”

“Relax,” Pepper advised. “I only brought it up because we’ve got almost a week’s worth of shows here before we have to move on, and–” She waved at the playing children in the room. “–all our shows are matinees, for obvious reasons. He’d probably enjoy having someone local to show him the sights.”

“You think?”

“Definitely.” Pepper looked very confident.

Bucky followed her gaze to where Tony was crouched on one side of the room, one hand resting on a kid’s shoulder for balance as the other pointed all around the room, apparently following the path of one particular colored light and explaining something animatedly. Every few seconds, though, he glanced over at Bucky and Pepper. When he saw Bucky watching him, he grinned and waved.

“Maybe,” Bucky allowed.

A few minutes later, Becca skipped up and slid her hand into his, her eyes already opening wide in the way that meant she was going to beg for something. “Daddy?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“I wanna sleep over at Jasmine’s house tonight.”

Bucky blinked. Well, that was an easier request than the disco ball or bounce house he’d been bracing for. “Um, well, I can call Jasmine’s mom and ask if that’s okay with her, sure. Is there some reason you’re bringing it up now instead of, you know, enjoying the party?”

Becca nodded solemnly. “I need to be not-home so you can ask Mr. Stark out on a date.”

“Becca!”

She ran off, laughing, and Bucky put a hand over his eyes.

“So that’s what you thought she was telling me.”

Bucky startled and whirled around, only to find himself nearly nose-to-nose with Tony. “Oh, Christ, you heard that.”

“Kids get the damnedest ideas sometimes,” Tony said, head cocked curiously.

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, heart in his throat.

“Of course, sometimes,” Tony continued, and he had hold of Bucky’s lanyard again, winding it slowly around his hand, “sometimes, they have the  _best_  ideas.”

Bucky dragged in a breath by main force. “Hypothesis: this could be one of those good ideas.”

Tony grinned. “Care to test that, Bucky? Say, tonight at eight?”

Bucky found his lips curving in a matching smile. “Rigorous testing is a must.”

Tony laughed, and for a second Bucky thought he was going to lean in for a kiss, but then his eyes flickered toward the balloon war happening at the center of the room and stepped back, releasing Bucky’s lanyard. “Pep’ll give you the hotel address,” he said, then turned and strode toward the kids, yelling, “Who wants to do some  _balloon science_?”

Bucky leaned against the wall and watched. He couldn’t wait to find out what kind of conclusions they were going to draw.


	3. Testing

Bucky stood in front of his closet and felt that he understood, for the first time in his life, the true meaning of the word “despair”.

The  _Stark Naked Science_  tour was only in town for a week. One week, that’s how long he had to make a lasting impression on Tony. Bucky hadn’t been this nervous even when he’d proposed to Becca’s mother.

He wasn’t sure if that was saying something about him, something about Tony, or something about Becca’s mom.

He’d more or less settled on the dark jeans, because every single time he wore them, someone complimented his ass, and he very much wanted Tony to notice and appreciate his ass.

But he had no idea at all what else to wear. He’d all but emptied his closet, frantic to find something that was neither too dressy nor too casual; something that would look good but not like he was trying too hard; something that suggested Bucky was fun but still reliable. Dating had never been this complicated before.

Out in the living room, Becca was still keyed up from the show and party, hopped up on sugar, dancing around and singing the theme song from  _Stark Naked Science_  at the top of her lungs. Bucky was pretty sure she was still wearing her little souvenir lab coat, though she’d gotten impatient with the safety goggles and taken them off a couple of hours ago.

Half an hour. He had half an hour to finish dressing. Once he’d decided on a shirt, it would take all of five minutes. He could do this, right?

The doorbell rang, and Bucky cursed. “That’ll be Steve,” he called. “Can you get the door?” Becca’s plan to sleep over with a friend had fallen through, so Bucky had called Steve in a panic.

Becca whooped with excitement and flung open the door. “Uncle Steve!” she crowed, and Bucky heard a low murmur as Steve responded with something Bucky couldn’t make out because Steve wasn’t yelling. He turned back to the choices he’d laid out on his bed. None of them seemed right. Bucky groaned and shoved his hands through his hair in frustration.

The bedroom door opened. “Could you be more pitiful?” Natasha asked. Becca’s voice filtered in behind her, excitedly telling Steve all about the show.

Bucky let his shoulders fall into a dejected slump. “Probably not,” he admitted. “What are you doing here?”

“I was with Steve when he got your call,” she said. She came into the room and shut the door. She sniffed at the options laid out on the bed and opened the closet door, beginning to poke through Bucky’s things.

Bucky winced. “Did he cancel a date to come babysit for me? Jesus, the punk has no sense of self-preservation at all. I’m sorry, shit, I’ll–”

“Breathe, Barnes,” Natasha said, her expression changing not at all. “It’s fine. We were going to go to the movies. We can watch movies and eat popcorn here just as well. Put this on.” She handed him a t-shirt he’d rejected in the first wave, one of his favorites, worn to the perfect softness but faded from use.

Bucky started to argue, then thought better of it and began pulling it on. “Pretty sure the presence of an overexcited seven-year-old is not conducive to romance,” he pointed out.

“It’s okay,” Natasha said, a faint smile curving her lips. “After she goes to bed, we can make out on the couch.”

Bucky groaned. “I haven’t even made out on that couch,” he protested. “I feel like I should get to be the first person to get to make out on my own couch.”

“How long have you had that couch?” Natasha asked pointedly.

“Uh.” He’d bought it after Becca’s mom had moved out, so– “About five years?”

Natasha lifted an eyebrow at him and waited, because even she wasn’t cruel enough to say out loud that five years was a long time to go between makeouts.

Bucky waited her out for a long few seconds, then threw up his hands with a sigh. “ _Fine_ ,” he grumbled.

Natasha offered him another shirt, a button-down, and he snatched it from her hands and began to pull it on. “It’s going to be fine.”

“How do you know?” he asked. “You don’t even know the guy.”

“Actually, I do,” she said. “I worked for him, about five years ago. Pepper and I are still friends.”

Bucky froze, staring at her. “So, those tickets…”

Natasha grinned. “Why do you think I let you off so light?”

“All that time I was telling you how much Becca loved the show, and you never said a word?”

Natasha stepped in close and began fixing his collar with deft fingers. She was close enough for Bucky to smell the faint perfume of her hair, floral and sweet and somehow calming. “If I’d told you before, you wouldn’t have wanted to put me on the spot to cash in on my friendship,” she said. She finger-combed his hair and turned him bodily toward the door. “You’re just adorably sweet and naive like that. Now, go get ‘im, tiger.” She smacked his butt, rather harder than was strictly necessary, smiling sweetly when he glared at her over his shoulder.

“Hey, Buck,” Steve said when Bucky came into the living room, “looking good!”

Becca rounded her eyes at him. “Daddy, you’re  _handsome_ ,” she gasped, the little wretch, as if Bucky actually looked any different than usual. Steve stifled a snicker.

Bucky scooped her up and noogied her head until she squealed and flailed to be put down again. “Be good for Uncle Steve tonight, monkey,” he said.

She appeared to give it some consideration. “How good?” she asked cannily.

“ _All_  good,” Bucky stressed.

Becca frowned at him. “ _Dad_.”

Steve laughed and tugged Becca toward him. “Good enough is good enough for me,” he said. “Get out of here, Buck, you’re intruding on my Uncle Steve Time.”

“I’m going, I’m going. Love you, angel.”

“Dad,  _go_.” Becca was already dragging Steve toward the kitchen, probably for snacks she knew damn well she wouldn’t be getting if Bucky was staying home.

Bucky started to say something, then stopped, shaking his head at himself, and left.

***

Bucky double-checked the information Pepper had sent to his phone. This was the hotel, all right. He took a deep breath and crossed the street, pushed through the doors.

Pepper was in the hotel lobby, apparently waiting for Bucky, since she started walking over to him as soon as she spotted him.

“This my shovel talk?” Bucky asked, trying to remember what it felt like to be confident and charming. “Don’t worry, I’ll have him home by curfew.”

Pepper laughed and clasped the hand he offered. “No, I just couldn’t stand being in the room with him for one more minute, so I decided to wait on my taxi down here.” She pulled out her cell phone and tapped a quick message on it.

“Taxi?” Bucky said. “I brought the car, so if you’re going out, we could drop you off, save you the fare.”

“No, you really can’t. Because that would involve me spending more time in an enclosed space with Tony. I love him, I really do, and I know I’m supposed to threaten to kill you with my shoe or something if you hurt him, but right now if I have to spend one more minute in his presence–” She broke off as her phone rang, sighed, and answered it. “I am going to  _kill_  you if you– That. That is the thing I was going to kill you for, I am killing you– Yes. Yes. No, I don’t– It’s  _fine_ , Tony. Don’t you dare. Don’t– Yes.  _Yes_. I’m hanging up. I’m hanging up right now, because you’re being– Hanging up now, Tony.” She hung up and stuffed the phone back into her purse. “He’s a little nervous,” she confided. “He hasn’t been on a date in a while.”

“Me either,” Bucky said. “Though I guess you probably already know that, what with you and Natasha being sneaky matchmaker spies or something.”

Pepper didn’t even pretend to be embarrassed. “Yes, I did know that, actually. And just so you know, I’m not planning on coming back tonight, so if you two decide you need the room–”

“Oh my god,” Bucky groaned, covering his face with one hand.

“What is that?” Tony’s voice echoed across the elegant lobby. “What is– Pepper, what are you doing to my date? Are you breaking him already? That’s supposed to be my job!”

Pepper patted Bucky on the shoulder, as if in sympathy. “I’m not doing anything to him,” she said, utterly unashamed of the lie.

Bucky pulled his hand down far enough to look at Tony, striding toward them from the bank of elevators. He was dressed much like Bucky, in form-fitting jeans and a dark red shirt. Without his signature shapeless labcoat, Bucky could see the shape of his shoulders and the taper of his waist, the way the muscles of his thighs bunched as he walked. The shirt’s sleeves were rolled up to reveal muscular forearms. He was  _breathtakingly_  gorgeous, and Bucky’s mouth went dry.

Tony was three steps away when Bucky realized he had no idea what to do when Tony reached them. Shaking hands seemed entirely too businesslike and formal for a date, but for a first date, hugging was obviously too familiar. Doing nothing seemed cold. High five?

Thankfully, Tony took the matter out of Bucky’s hands by interrupting his ongoing tirade to kiss Pepper’s cheek fondly and then tuck his hand in the crook of Bucky’s elbow. “Go on, Pep, have fun,” Tony said. “Tell the Red Menace I said hello. It is still red isn’t it?” he asked Bucky.

Bucky was still reeling with relief over the greeting issue and trying to figure out what to do with his hands. “Is what red?”

“Natasha’s hair,” Tony said, and Bucky felt his ears burn at the unvoiced  _duh_  in Tony’s tone. “Never mind, I’m probably not supposed to know; if I knew she’d have to kill me or something.”

“She’s at my house,” Bucky said, and promptly wanted to sink through the floor in mortification. “I mean, uh, she’s–”

“I know,” Pepper said breezily. “I’m going to go help babysit. Watch a movie, make some popcorn, braid some hair.” She winked at Bucky. “Distract your daughter so Natasha and her boyfriend can get some alone time. We set it all up this afternoon.” She patted her purse, presumably indicating her phone.

“Why do I feel like I’m being ganged up on?” Bucky asked plaintively.

“Welcome to my life,” Tony said. “It’s easier if you just go with it.” He nodded toward the doors. “There’s your taxi, Pep. Go away, you’re interrupting my date.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. She patted Tony on the cheek, and left without saying anything else. Both men watched her go in silence. Bucky didn’t know what Tony was thinking. Bucky was hoping his apartment would still be more or less in one piece when he got home.

“So,” Tony said after a moment. “Plans? Or are we just going to stroll through downtown until trouble finds us?”

“No, uh, plans, I have plans,” he said, mentally berating himself to pull it together. He had plans. And he had once been smooth and charming. He could totally blame the loss of game on Becca, right? “I thought we could– I mean, there’s this…” Tony’s eyebrows lifted expectantly, and Bucky dragged his gaze away from Tony, because looking at Tony, that was not doing anything to keep him cool and collected. “There’s this festival sort of thing in the park,” he said. “They’re doing a marathon of old sci-fi movies, like, from the fifties and sixties. Outdoors, like, projected on a sheet or something? Or, actually, I think, three different movies at a time, so people can wander back and forth. I think one of them has a shadow-cast, and…” Bucky groaned and put his free hand over his face again. “It sounded like a much cooler idea when it was only in my head.”

“Is  _Plan 9 From Outer Space_  on the schedule?” Tony asked.

“Uh. Yeah, I think so.” Bucky dared to look up. Tony hadn’t pulled away from his side yet, and there were tiny wrinkles at the corners of his eyes that made them sparkle.

“And will there be terrible fair food? Turkey legs and cotton candy and fried things that were never meant to be fried and other things that would probably make my nutritionist faint if she ever so much as smelled them?” Tony’s smile was growing into a grin.

“Probably,” Bucky admitted, not quite willing to admit that he’d obsessively researched all the vendors when he’d thought of taking Tony to the festival.

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Did this plan come to you via channels involving terrifyingly competent women of our mutual acquaintance?”

“No? I mean, uh, no, I… It was my idea.” Bucky rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. “Natasha asked what I was planning and I told her, but she didn’t, you know,  _say_  anything about it.”

“A ringing endorsement, from her,” Tony said, and he actually laughed. “It’s like you can read my mind, I swear. Come on, then, let’s get moving. I don’t want to miss any of  _Plan 9_. And then you’re going to buy me a corndog.”

“I am?”

Tony pulled Bucky toward the door, and Bucky followed along, unresisting. “You are,” Tony said. “And I’m going to do really,  _really_  filthy, near-criminal things to it while you watch, in retaliation for having to look at your ass in those jeans all night while trying to keep my hands to myself.”

The flush that crawled down Bucky’s neck at that had nothing to do with embarrassment. “You do that, I’m going to be forced to show you what I can do with a funnel cake.”

Tony tipped a curious look at him. “I’m drawing a blank, here, I admit. There’s… There’s no innuendo in a funnel cake, Bucky.”

Bucky smirked at him, slow and dirty, and for an instant, seeing the way Tony’s eyes widened, their pupils blooming, he felt like his old charming, confident self. “Well, I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

***

Suggestive suggestions from Pepper notwithstanding, Bucky didn’t want to propose going back to the hotel when the festival wound down for the night. Appealing as it was to imagine taking Tony to bed, it would have felt too much like a one-night stand to jump into it so quickly. Tony didn’t suggest it either, despite the way his hands had been wandering whenever they were in an even vaguely-private shadow.

They lingered at the festival until the security began gently shooing people toward the exits. They strolled slowly, reluctant to bring the night to a close, letting the crowd flow around them as the big floodlamps shut down, one by one.

“That’s not at all creepy,” Bucky muttered. The downside to watching a marathon of even cheesy sci-fi and horror was a somewhat overactive imagination.

Tony chuckled and linked their hands together. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” Tony’s fingers were still slightly sticky with powdered sugar and grease, and somehow that seemed perfect. 

Bucky snorted and bumped their shoulders. “What are you going to do when the aliens come to kidnap us, science them to death?”

“I will science the  _shit_  out of them,” Tony declared, and they both cracked up laughing. Tony didn’t let go of Bucky’s hand, though, and that was nice.

The parking garage was a nightmare, of course. Bucky would’ve preferred the alien kidnapping. “Ug, it’s going to take forever to get out of here,” Bucky complained as he dropped into his seat.

“We could just sit and wait for it to clear,” Tony said, leaning closer with a sly, heavy-lidded look. “I bet we could find something to pass the time.”

A shiver dragged through Bucky, right down to his toes, but he rolled his eyes. “Ug, that was terrible. What is this, high school? We’re gonna sit in the car and make out like teenagers now?”

Tony grinned, but was undeterred. “Yep.”

“Well,” Bucky said, “since you put it that way–” He didn’t finish before Tony’s mouth was on his, urgent and hot and oh  _god_ , it had been so long, Bucky was afraid he was going to come in his jeans if Tony so much as groped him.

Tony didn’t, and so Bucky didn’t. In fact, Tony was almost achingly careful to keep his hands away from Bucky’s groin. Bucky wondered about it, idly, until one change of position made Tony whimper helplessly, and Bucky realized he was in the same volatile situation.

When they finally came up for air, the flow of vehicles around them was approaching something near normal, so Bucky took a couple of breaths so deep he could feel his lungs stretching, and finally turned on the car. “Let’s get you back to the hotel,” he said, trying for casual and probably failing.

Tony blew out his own breath as he retreated to his side of the car and fumbled with the seat belt. “Actually,” he said, looking at the clock on the dash, “if you don’t mind…”

“Whatever you want,” Bucky promised, not even caring at the way his cheeks flamed.

“Um. Your place? Not– like that!” he added quickly, hands fluttering to indicate something Bucky couldn’t interpret. “I mean, I know your– Becca’s there, and, you know, the babysitters, god,  _three_  babysitters, what even–”

“Tony.”

“Right, I meant, um, if we went back to your place, I could collect Pepper and make sure she gets back to the hotel safely. Faster than if I have to call a cab from the hotel and then ride over for her, you know?”

Pepper could pretty easily take a cab by herself from Bucky’s apartment building back to the hotel, but Bucky couldn’t resist the excuse to keep Tony nearby just that little bit longer, so he didn’t mention it. “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” He pulled out of his space and into the flow of traffic, turning away from the hotel and toward the wider road that would lead back home.

Tony kept his hands tucked in his pockets as he followed Bucky into the apartment building. In the elevator, his eyes were firmly on the crack of the door. When they reached Bucky’s door, they could hear a soft murmur behind it that sounded like voices – the television, maybe.

Bucky fumbled with the keys, trying to sort out the one for the door, but then Tony’s hand was on his wrist. Bucky looked up to see Tony’s eyes on him again, hungry and somehow vulnerable. “I had a great time,” he said quietly. “If that wasn’t obvious. I’d like to… If you’re free another night, I’d like to take you out again.” He tipped his head, hopeful. “I’ll make Pepper babysit. I mean, she’ll be happy to do it, really, she–”

“I’d love to,” Bucky said.

Tony cut off mid-word, which left him somewhat breathless. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Bucky hooked his fingers through Tony’s belt loops and pulled him closer. “Yeah,” he said again, lips ghosting over Tony’s.

Tony groaned as he leaned into the kiss, pushing Bucky back against the door.

The door swung open, and Bucky yelped and staggered, clinging to Tony for balance.

Becca planted little fists on her hips and glared up at them both. “You’re  _late_ , Daddy,” she said sternly.

“Uh–”

“Get back here, what do you– Oh, hey guys!” Steve said, obviously having just caught up with Becca’s dash for the door. He looked at Tony with undisguised curiosity.

Bucky groaned and pulled Tony the rest of the way into the apartment, kicking the door shut. “Steve, Tony. Becca, darling, light of my life, what are you doing up? It’s gotta be after midnight!”

Becca pouted. “I wanted to see you!”

“Bec, love, we’ve been through this before. You still have to go to bed when I’m not here. You  _know_  that.”

“Were you kissing Tony?” Becca asked accusingly.

“I think we let her stay up too late,” Natasha said, coming up behind Steve. “And now she’s all wound up.” She looked past Bucky at Tony, and her smile looked genuine. “Still playing scientist, Stark?” she said.

“Tasha!” Tony stepped forward to hug Natasha in delighted greeting, which Bucky thought was very brave of him. “How have you not changed at all?” he complained. “Are you secretly an android hell-bent on human domination?”

“You’ve discovered my plan. Now I’ll have to kill you,” Natasha deadpanned.

“Why are we all in the mudroom?” Pepper asked, coming in. Her hair had been divided into messy cornrows, crooked and too loose so they were already falling apart, and her elegant manicure had been replaced with a 7-year-old’s painstaking but ultimately sloppy and mismatched job. Somehow, she still managed to look intimidatingly put-together and professional.

“Dad was kissing Tony!” Becca complained loudly. “ _Gross_! Why is there so much  _kissing_ today?”

Bucky looked up at Steve with a raised eyebrow. “Were you defiling my couch?”

“No!” Steve protested, holding up his hands.

“Only because she wouldn’t let us,” Natasha put in, ruffling Becca’s hair.

“That’s my girl,” Bucky said. He held up a hand for Becca to high-five.

“So we used your room instead,” Natasha continued easily.

“Wait, what?”

Pepper laughed and went back into the living room, and everyone else followed, because that was what one did when someone like Pepper was around. “No one’s furniture has been defiled,” Pepper said, sitting on the arm of the sofa. “We watched some movies, did some hair and nails, ate a little too much popcorn and ice cream, and then we  _thought_  Miss Becca here had gone to sleep.” She gave Becca an expectant look.

Becca, it seemed, was not at all immune to Pepper’s aura. “I  _tried_ ,” she whined.

Steve grinned and draped an arm over Natasha’s shoulders. “We should get going so Bucky can wrestle his spawn into the sack,” he said, and Natasha nodded. “Let us know if you need us again,” Steve said.

Bucky looked over at Tony, who was lingering by the door, lost somewhere in a mix between bashful and bewildered and joyful. “What do you think, now that you’ve seen the circus?” he asked. “You still want to come back for more?”

Tony reached out and caught Bucky’s hand, pulling. He glanced at Becca and dropped a light kiss on Bucky’s cheek. “Absolutely.”


	4. Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AT LONG LAST, your patience is rewarded!

_[2 years later]_

Bucky clung to sleep, not entirely certain he wanted to find out that his dreams had once again only come true in his dreams. But there was an unaccustomed warmth in the bed, and the whisper of slow, shallow breathing carried to his ears. Finally, unable to wait another second, Bucky opened his eyes.

Tony was sprawled beside Bucky on the bed, flat on his stomach, face turned toward Bucky, mouth and cheek distorted where they were mashed against the pillow. His hair, freed of styling product, was a floppy mess, but it looked so soft, Bucky’s fingers itched to touch it. The sunlight sliding in through the slats in the blinds crept across Tony’s shoulders, highlighting the smooth, golden skin and the curves and planes of muscle underneath. Bucky wanted to touch that, too.

_It’s real_ , he thought in wonder.  _He’s really here. To stay._  The nearly two years of long-distance dating and only seeing each other every few months was finally done.

Bucky gave in to the urge and freed his hand from the blankets to slide his fingers across Tony’s shoulders, to brush through that unruly hair, to stroke his palm down Tony’s spine.

Tony arched into the touch like a cat and smiled, eyes still closed. “Mmmm,” he sighed happily. “I had the most wonderful dream that I moved in with my boyfriend.”

“Pretty sure that part was real,” Bucky told him, smiling at the similarity to his own waking thoughts.

“Why risk it?” Tony mumbled. He dragged his hand out from under the pillow and groped across the sheet until he found Bucky’s skin, then let his arm fall over Bucky’s waist. “Mm, mornin’, gorgeous.”

“I’d say good morning back, but I’m not convinced you’re actually awake,” Bucky teased.

“Some parts are more awake than others,” Tony admitted, tugging Bucky closer and rolling his hips to demonstrate.

Bucky chuckled and leaned in for a quick kiss, which Tony seemed happy to return. “Lovely as that thought is,” Bucky said ruefully, “pretty sure Becca’s already up.”

“Mm,” Tony dismissed, nuzzling into Bucky’s neck. “She’s almost nine; she can get her own cereal and watch TV for an hour or so.”

There was a flaw in that logic, Bucky was sure, but it was hard to pinpoint when Tony’s teeth were doing such distracting things to Bucky’s collarbone. He let Tony push him over onto his back, sliding his hand restlessly over Tony’s skin as Tony climbed up to straddle his thighs.

Tony’s eyes finally opened, his smile widening when he met Bucky’s gaze. “What d'ya know?” he murmured. “It  _was_  real.” He kissed Bucky before Bucky could answer, starting slow and sleepy and quickly turning hot and urgent.

Bucky slipped the tips of his fingers under the elastic of Tony’s boxers, teasing.

“Bucky,” Tony said in a tone that he would certainly deny was anything like a whimper. “God, I lo–”

A loud  _bang_  rattled the windows of the apartment. Bucky jolted upright, spilling Tony back onto the mattress.

From the living room, or possibly the kitchen, Becca shrieked, then burst into giggles, obviously startled but not hurt.

Bucky fell back to the bed with a whuff of aborted adrenaline and a groan. “Becca!” he yelled. “No science before 9 AM! We’ve talked about this!”

Tony laughed. “Who are you to deny the siren call of explosions?” he demanded, then raised his voice. “Make sure you write it down! It’s not science unless you write it down!”

“Dammit, Tony,” Bucky said, half-laughing, “don’t encourage her.”

“Encourage her?” Tony mock-gasped. “I’m going to go  _help_  her!” He started to climb out of bed, reaching for the t-shirt that had been flung on the floor the night before.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Bucky said. “Give me that!” He grabbed Tony around the waist and dragged him back onto the bed, both of them laughing as they wrestled for the shirt. When they finally wound down, Bucky was half-lying on Tony as Tony held the shirt just out of Bucky’s reach. They were both gasping for breath around the occasional escaping giggle.

“Whew,” Tony panted. “Guess we should get up and make sure Becca didn’t blow up something too important, huh?”

“Yeah,” Bucky sighed. He rolled off Tony and flopped onto his back to finish catching his breath. “Sorry,” he said. “Probably that’s not how you were hoping our first real morning together would go, huh?”

Tony shrugged and smiled. “It’s okay. The most important thing was that I woke up next to you, in your– in  _our_  bed. We’ll have plenty of time for everything else later.” He leaned over to kiss Bucky, then sat up to pull on the t-shirt. “Right now, I’m going to go see what sort of science the monkey was up to, and maybe get some kind of breakfast going. You go get a shower.”

Bucky grinned. “You sayin’ I stink, Stark?”

“I’m saying that Becca may not be the only one in this house that ‘monkey’ applies to, and for far less charming reasons.”

Bucky squawked indignantly and lunged up to swat at Tony’s ass in retaliation, but Tony just laughed and dodged nimbly before dragging on a pair of sweatpants – Bucky’s, by the way they hung loose around Tony’s hips – and ducked out of the room.

Bucky dropped back to the bed and grinned at the ceiling. “Conclusion,” he told it. “I need to marry that man.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the [fantastic art](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/120700935474/stark-naked-science-stepsuphill) for this fic from stepsuphill!
> 
> You can find more of my Bucky/Tony fic at the [imaginetonyandbucky](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com) blog, and all kinds of MCU posts at [everyworldneedslove](http://everyworldneedslove.tumblr.com)!


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